Want to start cooking.. but so much to buy!?!?!

beingjdc

Herbs? I have some Fines Herbes and some Oregano. Everything else gets soy sauce, pepper, pepper sauce, or stock!

Stephen_Leak

I strongly recommend the "Cooking for Blokes" trilogy.

As for herbs, I use ASDA SmartPrice dried mixed herbs, 23p for an 18g tub.

MercilessKiller

Wow thanks for all the ideas Usually ready meals include sheperd pie, lasagne, and then a range of diff things like beef/chicking hot pots etc

I'll have a good day tomorrow looking through recipes! Thanks again!

beingjdc

Shepherd's pie is great fun to home make. I don't use any "extra" flavouring except gravy granules... Freezes pretty well too as long as you don't mind it all getting mixed together.

paddy's_mum

Quite often, a cheap and cheerful tin of soup will somehow 'lift' what you are cooking (such as spag bol {tomato soup} or a chicken casserole {mushroom or chicken soup}) to a tastier level without great expense. My major stand-by additions are beef Oxo cubes, Worcestershire sauce, onions and garlic in any form, ground black pepper, and a grinder pot of All Purpose Spice (from Co-op). I too (as a previous poster said) prefer cornflour (a large pot lasts ages and is not expensive) to flour of any description.

When I was a working mum, I couldn't spare the time to grown my own herbs (other than rosemary which I grew for its addition to the garden rather than its culinary uses) and have no argument with using dried herbs for quickness or convenience. It is easy to feel out of one's depth with the 'organic' or 'grow your own herbs' advice that good people give (no offence intended, just that many can't find the time and seek quick alternatives!)

You are just starting on a real voyage of discovery. Go slowly, learn, and above all enjoy what you are cooking. None (or few!) of us were born great cooks but we learned, as will you!

One practical tip, if I may. What meals did your mum, your grandma or your aunts cook that you really enjoyed? Talk to them, learn from them, keep experimenting ... and one day, you too will be in the same camp as Mr Bad Example, who is actually one helluva inspiration to many!

kunekune

I don't really remember when I stocked my first kitchen, it was a long time ago (and I suspect it involved mostly lentils and tinned tomatoes) but I have had to start from scratch a few times since, due to international moves. I have a small list of absolutely essential flavourings, although by starting my menu planning with one type (eg, italian) and only gradually adding another (eg, middle eastern) and finally Indian, I can spread the cost over a month or two:

Dried stuff:

salt & pepper, obviously
paprika
oregano
thyme
rosemary
cumin
coriander
turmeric
chilli powder
saffron strands

plus:

soy sauce
honey
worcestershire sauce
sweet chilli sauce
lemon juice

Each time, as I have got the basics, I've added other things, such as nam pla (fish sauce), smoked paprika (not the same), fennel seeds, cardamon seeds, but this is my essentials. Depending on the kind of food you cook, you may not need all of them.

Alison1604

Agree with all that's been said about herbs/spices.

Here's a tip for using fresh herbs (if you have some given to you or buy them when they're reduced) they can be frozen into ice cubes, stored in a plastic bag and can be added to dishes during cooking.

Pink.

Hi MercilessKiller,

It's not easy starting out but as others have said you need to work out what you will be most likely to use again and buy a little at a time.

These older threads should help you put together a list of essentials, although obviously you'll have to build them up gradually and tailor them to your own needs/tastes.

Help!! Basic shopping list needed

1st ever shop... And doing it OS!

Your fully comprehensive storecupboard

store cupboard essentials?

Storecupboard list - might be useful

Emergency food tin

OS store cupboard basics

Pink

thecornflake

I want to know why most people seem to have popcorn corn in their store cupboards. Is it just to make popcorn or is there some use for it I don't know about?

kunekune

Emergency provisions .. That takes me back. In New Zealand we always kept an emergency box in case of earthquakes/floods/bird flu etc. It contained tinned fruit, tinned pulses, tinned veges that taste ok cold like corn and potatoes (yuck, ok, I never put those in), and other proteins like corned beef and tinned oily fish. The idea was they were all things you could eat either hot or cold. We also had things like crackers/ryvita, longlife milk, and jam to go on crackers (it keeps if not opened).

The irony is that we were in a fairly serious earthquake in 1995. The contents of my pantry made a passable substitute for concrete (wholemeal flour mixed with ouzo and olive oil). The eggs survived. We had intermittent power. Our meals were not only things from tins but what could be rescued from the fridge. I vaguely remember 2 days of hard boiled eggs, tinned chickpeas and tuna ....